IACONVENTIONO1 In the past year the union has organized 1,811 new members. That was down from the past three years’ results where over 2000 members where brought into the I.W.A. in each year. The year’s total organizing activity touched some 2,800 workers, down significantly from past campaigns. The national organizing report, read by national first vice president Neil Menard, noted that organizing remained steady in Ontario and Eastern Canada while there was a significant decline in B.C. and no new activity in the Prairies. Despite the disappointing results, some new organizing drives were launched. e union is engaged in a campaign to organize bushworkers att log haulers in northern B.C., is working to organize First Nations bushworkers in Manitoba and is making progress in New Brunswick and Metro Toronto. Overall, said Brother Menard, during the past four year’s the union has grown by about 15 per cent and has held its own as the I.W.A. has lost membership through closures and downsizing. The report noted that only 14 or 20 locals saw new members, and that it appears that some locals do not have a plan, strategic or otherwise, to sustain organizing in their jurisdictions. The union lost 18 votes averaging 63 members, said the Report, calling into question, efforts and tactics on larger units. The size of the average bargaining unit successfully certified was approximately 30 members. In B.C. the I.W.A. is nonetheless one of the most active unions in the province. During the provincial election campaign in April and May, some local unions focused on political organizing rather than labour organizing. Overall for the labour movement, certifications in the province declined by 23 per cent in the first half of this year, paralleling the union’s drop in certifications. Pelbwas B.C. Local 1-423 organized 209 new members at General Coach, Kootenay Veneers, the Interior Savings Credit Union and Western Reman. Local 1-405 added credit union employees at the Elkford Branch of the East Kootenay Credit Union. Williams Lake Local 1-425 organized new groups of truck haulers including Weldwood and ignum Short Haulers. On the Coast and Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley, Locals 2171 and 1-3567 brought in 153 and 232 members respectively. Duncan B.C. Local 1-80 organized 84 workers at 7 certs, includin; prabloyees at Harper’s ing and Kel Tech Safety Services. orthern B.C, Local 1-424 has joined with the national union to open the Forestry Division office in Prince George, designed to organize non-union bushworkers and truckers. Organizers were on a sign-up phase as of convention time. e National first vice president Neil Menard told delegates that the union’s successes, in spite of anti-labour laws, are indicative of its commitment to organizing across the country. Organizing program experiences tough year “A significant loss in B.C. is New Forest Opportunities Ltd. which is being scrapped at the end of the year by the new provincial government ,” said Menard. “NewFor provided placement last year representing approximately 302 new members to I.W.A. Coast locals.” “The coming year looks to be a challenging one in B.C. with the onset of the secret ballot vote for certification. After 10 years under automatic certification, many B.C. organizers will have to retool to deal with what will undoubtedly be fierce anti-union campaigns by employers during the 10-day period leading up to the vote,” he pated In Alberta Local 1-207 the union brought in 53 new members at Winterburn Truss in Edmonton while in Manitoba, Winnipeg Local 830 completed a three-month survey and plans to follow-up on contacts in the future. In northern Manitoba, the local and national union began to organize bush workers. The union is fighting Tolko Industries to maintain the small unionized workforce it has in the bush, regain some lost ground, and build a new working relationship with First Nations bushworkers contracting for Tolko. “Although it has been costly and difficult, the National is hopeful that, through a combination of negotiations, organizing, and building coalitions with the First Nations and contractors in the area, the I.W.A. will be able to achieve major gains for forest workers in northern Manitoba in the long term,” said Menard. The five-local union in Ontario organized 844 new union members, accounting for nearly half of the I.W.A.’s numbers. They got 17 new certs. Toronto and surrounding areas brought in 353 new members in six bargaining units and achieved a breakthrough at the Anagram are Premier facility at Niagara-on-the- e. Local 500 brought in over 300 workers at Dashwood Industries and Erie Flooring while Local 1000 brought in several new units covering 116 new members at such places including a retirement home and manufacturing facilities. Locals 2693 and 2995 organized 60 members in three bargaining units. “Since the inception of the Organizing and Growth Program the Ontario locals have accounted for 30 per cent of our organizing success, adding 2,000 members in the last two ears,” said Brother Menard. “In Ontario locals, rother Mike Hunter and all the other national and local organizers should be proud of their continued progress. In the face of some of the toughest labour laws Canada has to offer, our success in Ontario is a tribute to our union’s commitment to organizing.” In New Brunswick, facal 806 added new bargaining units at Lakeburn Lumber and the Nexfor I-Joist mill. In the past two years the local has pranized nearly 500 members and is growing its base in the province. The report said new tools like the new “Our Union” CD-ROM, which was introduced at the convention, will be available to assist activists (see article below). “We should not be content with the 10,000 workers we have organized since the 1997 convention,” the report said. “The relentless attacks we endure in the forest sector, from environmentalists and protectionists; the ruthlessness of anti-union, anti-worker governments; and the callousness of transnational corporations can only be matched by a union that is committed to the continued growth and diversity of its membership.” & CD-ROM released to assist |.W.A. organizers A new organizing tool was introduced at this year’s con- vention in the form }rgess ofaCD-ROM entitled | “Our Union.” L The PC-based CD was developed by the national office to assist organizers in getting information out on the I.W.A. The contents deal with general information on the union, the benefits of the union, union programs and policies, and an audio and video gallery. It was introduced on a giant screen presentation by national provident Dave Haggard and second vice-president David Tones. “We developed it as an educational tool to assist in organizing and we want everyone, every local and everyone around, to be using this,” said Haggard. “We think it’ll benefit every local union. It'll benefit our organizers.” “I think this is a very effective tool,” said Tones. “You can give it to potential members. They can look at it with their families and then it gives you the opportunity to come back and talk to them again.’ The CD-ROM runs on Windows 95/98/NT and it requires at least a Pentium 256 processor with 32 megabytes of RAM. “Essentially it’s a multimedia CD-ROM with some basic information about our union,” he said. It also has historic songs about the early union. One of the features of the disc is that it contains screensaver photos from I.W.A. history. The union has already distributed 1,000 copies of the CD and is taking orders from local unions for a second production run. & o7gmion LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER 2001/9